Before, Andrew would’ve dodged it without breaking a sweat. But now? After everything–his body, his strength, his pride–all of
it was a shell of what it once was.
He barely had time to register the hit before he went down. Hard.
Rain poured around them.
Vernon took the umbrella the Clermont butler handed him, then looked down at Andrew–sprawled, broken, pathetic.
His face was unreadable. He didn’t have to say a word. The message was clear.
Andrew’s chest ached, but it had nothing to do with the punch.
Vernon didn’t even spare him a glance.
Lightning flashed. Vernon closed the umbrella and slid into the car.
A moment later, the Maserati rolled past the gates.
Bang!
The heavy iron doors slammed shut behind them.
Two worlds. Completely sealed off.
***
Lena didn’t waste a second thinking about why Andrew had shown up. The moment she let him go, he stopped mattering.
All that mattered now was her present.
Vernon felt the same. Maybe it was just a guy thing, but there was no way he was letting his fiancée waste a single thought on another man. So neither of them brought it up.
At dinner, freshly changed, Vernon sat beside Lena, casually discussing wedding dates with Benjamin. Lena didn’t care when they picked–she just ate, tossing in a comment now and then.
Vernon, though, kept splitting his focus between the conversation and her. One second, he was peeling shrimp for her. The next,
2/3
Chapter 14
he was wiping her fingers with a napkin.
Her ears burned. She still wasn’t used to this.
He’d already done the same thing at lunch, but it still caught her off guard.
+20 Bonus
Her dad had pampered her when she was little, but after he left, she was sent to the Rohan family. Andrew had spoiled her too, in his own way—but never like this. He made her do things herself, unless she was sick. And once Nicole came into the picture, that
care disappeared completely.
Now, Vernon was the second man in her life to treat her this gently. Like she was fragile.
She was an adult now–and her dad was right there.
She hesitated, then finally took the shrimp he’d peeled. As a quiet thank–you, she ladled him a bowl of cream soup.
“Careful, it’s hot,” she murmured, handing it over.
Vernon paused, then smiled. “Got it.”
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